I'd say 48 hours was about right for me. I spread the time over 3-4 days. I didn't use the barbri books because I was out of town for the class. I used the practice test online, and the multiple choice question "software" from the mpre website (it's study smarter something or other).

48 hours of actual studying is way more than enough. I put in about 20-25 hours by memorizing the rules from the barbri book, taking the 3 practice tests in the back of the book and doing the practice test online. I didn't even take the actual class, just bought the book on ebay. I got a 150. The MPRE isn't bad at all so you won't need to kill yourself to get ready for it.

I took the PR class, one year before the MRRE, and then I spent a few hours reviewing my materials from the class and passed the MPRE without any trouble. The MPRE is not set up like the bar or a law school course where they expect and want people to fail. It is merely there to motivate future attorneys to familiarize themselves with the rules and ethics that govern the legal community. As such, it is easy.

The MPRE is straight black letter law. I probably overstudied, but I passed the first time.

Don't take this test too lightly, however, because I know a couple of people who had to take it more than once.

If you had a rule based PR professor (like I did), I would recommend reading over the barbri long outline a couple of times, and taking all of the practice questions in the back of the book. Also, make sure you review ALL of your answers, making sure you got questions right for the right reasons, and knowing why you got specific questions wrong.

I studied for this exam on my lunch breaks during my second year second summer job. I walked out feeling like I failed, because the questions are tricky (not MBE tricky, but still, sometimes had to guess between 2 answers). If you read the barbri outline and work all of the practice questions, you should be in good shape.

My friends that didn't have a rule based professor for PR also used the PR flashcards in the yellow box. This gave them rules and hypos. But be careful with the flashcards--some of the rules have changed slightly since they were printed. Other than that, a good resource (if you are somewhat familiar with the rules you will be able to spot the inaccurate cards, they are pretty obvious.)

I've always been told you should not spend more than 24 total hours of study time preparing (over the 2 to 3 days before the exam).

Eight hours to classes or lectures as well as reviewing your notes, outlines or flash cards. The remaining Sixteen hours should be used to focus on sample Question attempts and reviews. (last 4 hours for practicing under timed conditions)